A Beautiful Night For Teasing
by HAQ
Summary: A conversation between the warden and Leliana gets off to a rocky start, but gives rise to an opportunity for the bard to exercise her talent for captivation (and merciless teasing).


"What a beautiful night! The wind is so light and warm, don't you think? And the stars are out, with no clouds to block them! No, wait, I see some clouds there, in front of the moon. Well, there aren't _many_. Hmm, that one sort of looks like a bunny, no?"

Neria, who was sitting cross-legged beside the bard, replied, "Leliana, as pretty as the night sky is, don't you think our eyes should be directed at the potential _darkspawn_ lurking in the shadows?"

"Oh, of course."

There was silence for a few moments.

"But if there were any darkspawn nearby, wouldn't you be able to sense them, even if they were lurking in the shadows?"

"Well… yes."

"Then we don't need to be _quite_ so vigilant, yes?"

Neria looked at Leliana with a small smile, partway between amused and exasperated. "There are other creatures – other _hunters_ that could be out there, besides darkspawn. Bandits, assassins…"

Leliana sighed, and with a huff, hugged her knees to her chest. "Yes, I know. Heaven forbid I try to engage you in light conversation. If you want, I will speak no more, and we can spend the rest of the night in total silence."

"I don't…" Neria said blankly. She frowned and turned her gaze back to the trees.

"Besides," continued Leliana, "you are absolutely terrible to speak to."

A pause. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Leliana did not move her head, but her eyes flicked to Neria's for a moment. With a nonchalant shrug, she replied, "You are hopeless at making conversation."

"I am not!"

"You _are_," Leliana replied, matter-of-factly. "If it were up to you, you would spend your whole day in silence, looking _seriously_ at everything. You would pose, with your hand on your chin, humming thoughtfully and looking _oh so clever_."

"You think I look clever?"

"That's not what I said."

"You said I looked 'oh so clever'."

"I didn't say that. Besides, if I was going to comment on how you look, I would have said 'the Warden looks stupid and hates Leliana, who is only ever nice to her.'"

"Oh, come now. You're being ridiculous."

"Do you even_ like_ talking to me?"

The light teasing had left Leliana's voice, and so Neria turned sharply. The bard was facing her, eyes burning with accusation. Her face was half-lit by the fire blazing not far behind them, expression tight with the anticipation that follows a bold remark.

Noticing the elf studying her, Leliana shifted defensively, letting one knee drop.

"Well?" she demanded.

Finally, Neria replied with a shrug, "Of course I do."

Leliana scoffed. "You are so reassuring."

"Well, what else do you want me to say?"

Leliana pulled her knees close to her chest again, and mumbled something against them.

Neria studied the other woman once more, a small smile on her face. "Well, the weather was nice today."

Leliana made no answer.

"Have you ever noticed that Alistair always snores louder after a particularly large dinner?"

Again, no answer was made. Though, Neria could have sworn she saw Leliana's body shift, as if she had inhaled, then tightened her grip on her knees to keep herself from laughing.

She tried again. "Your hair looks very nice in this light. Its colour dances with the firelight: red, then golden, then brown. It's quite mesmerizing."

Leliana's eyes finally lifted to hers, and Neria smirked triumphantly. Under the bard's gaze, the smirk melted into a warm smile. The bard shifted again, inclining back on one hand, and tilting her chin.

Leliana asked, "Is this you attempting flirtation?"

"What? I was merely commenting that your hair looks nice. At the moment. In this light."

The bard shook her head and laughed despite herself. "I should teach you how to compliment someone properly."

"I understand how to compliment someone perfectly well, thank you."

"Do you? I am not so sure. I imagine you certainly would have _attracted_ many compliments in your life, but whether you have the ability to return them is another matter entirely. You are very beautiful, after all."

Neria laughed – there was a hint of nervousness – but seemed unable to return a witty jest.

"You are confident, and act with intelligence and compassion. On the battlefield, you cast spells with such ease and grace, one wonders whether you are not really dancing." Leliana grinned; her voice was warm and sweet, like syrup.

"You are a magnificent sight to behold, Grey Warden. And you see… _that_ is how you compliment someone."

As if snapped out of a spell, Neria blinked and shook her head. She turned away from the bard, and with a voice that caught, said, "Oh."

"Is that… are you _blushing_?"

The warden scoffed and stood up, avoiding the bard's gaze. "I think _not_. Excuse me, I should patrol our perimeter."

"This day shall go down in history! The day I made our fierce Grey Warden leader _blush_."

"I'm walking away now."

"There's no need to be embarrassed - you look even more radiant with rosy cheeks!" Leliana called after the warden, giggling.

Despite the speed with which Neria was attempting to make her escape, Leliana's giggles, which soon turned into musical laughter, followed her, consumed her, vibrated through her being, and warmed her cheeks still further.


End file.
